By Joel Scanlon
The Silicon Valley office of KPMG has earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for its commercial interiors. KPMG is the U.S. member of KPMG International and provides tax, audit and advisory services.
The LEED green building evaluation system for commercial interiors is a list of stipulations for authenticating a building’s architectural plan and construction that would nurture affordable, long-lasting, healthy and environmentally friendly practices in the used building space.
Tim Zanni, KPMG Silicon Valley office managing partner, stated that earning the LEED authentication was part of a bigger plan that was initiated by choosing the location of the new Mission Towers, which goes along with KPMG’s Green initiative to minimize its carbon footprint. He mentioned that the office structure is situated within walking distance of public transport and other services.
During December 2011, KPMG shifted its Silicon Valley office to five floors of Mission Towers I on Freedom Circle in Santa Clara. Equity Office Properties owns and takes care of the operations of the 12-floor Mission Towers. KPMG’s office was constructed with an extensive plan to minimize usages in order to earn LEED authentication.
The minimized usages achieved were:
- 54% minimization in water usage (surpassing the stipulated 20% minimum)
- 35% minimization in Lighting Power Density (a yardstick of the amount of electric power utilized to provide lighting to a space) and
- 30% minimization of power expenses by designing an optimal HVAC system by studying the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning needs of the structure.
Furthermore, most of the fittings were approved by Energy Star. The finishing, furniture, paints and other coatings chosen were low-volatile organic compounds to improve the air quality within the building. An extensive arrangement for collection of recyclables was instituted.
Source: http://www.kpmg.com/us